New and Improved
by Jedi General
Summary: A story where Jim and Sissi are members of the Code Lyoko gang.
1. The New Team

**New and Improved**

**Chapter 1: **The New Team

_Gotta give props to TB3 of LF for designing Sissi's Lyoko outfit._

Odd was cornered. The Krabe advanced towards him.

"Odd, get out of there, you've only got ten life points left," shouted Jeremie frantically.

"I'm pinned down Jeremie, I don't have a way to escape," said Odd quickly, with a hint of apprehension in his voice. Odd fired several arrows at his enemy, not bothering to aim, as there was no time. All failed to hit the target, and the Krabe closed in. Knowing it was his time, Odd gathered himself and made a frantic charge towards the monster, but stopped short to the sound of crunching metal. The Krabe stood up straight, and Odd noticed a javelin-like weapon sticking out of its head just before the before it exploded. After the debris disappeared, a girl floated down, using her anti-gravity abilities, and picked up the javelin, which had turned back into its normal form, a bo staff. She looked up and smiled at Odd, brushing a lock of hair out of her face.

"Thanks, Sissi," said Odd, breathing a sigh of relief. "I owe you one."

Sissi giggled. She was wearing a maroon tunic with a fatigue-style undershirt. Her pants were also maroon with a couple thick purple stripes and some golden-colored heart designs on the stripes down the sides. She had purple and maroon boots with fatigue-style laces. She was wearing a golden headband, with her dark brown hair made into a large ponytail in the back. Odd lost touch with reality as he gazed upon her, but only for a moment. The sound of Jeremie's voice snapped him out of it.

"Odd, Sissi, must you guys always be like that? You know we've got a world to save, or did you forget?"

"Oh, give it a rest, Jeremie," said Sissi.

"Yeah, Einstein," said Odd, "we know what we're doing. We're pros at this."

"Oh, yeah, then why do you two _pros_ go and give Yumi and Aelita a hand then, hmm?"

Jeremie sighed. Ever since Sissi had found out about Lyoko and joined the group, Odd hadn't been the same. He was always getting distracted while fighting, which nearly cost the team on a number of occasions. Jeremie was beginning to wonder of allowing Sissi to join the team had been a good decision. Jeremie shook his head, ridding his mind of that thought. _Sissi has become a valuable asset to the team,_ he thought to himself. _She's a tenacious fighter, thanks in part to her Penchak Silat skills and her "never-give-up" mentality. Plus her relationship with her father, the principal, has gotten us out of many a jam._ Jeremie's mind drifted back to the task at hand as he eyed the computer monitor. Sissi, Odd and Ulrich, quickly got Yumi out of trouble, and then quickly eliminated the rest of XANA's committee. Aelita entered the tower and promptly deactivated it. Jeremie's computer beeped, as he had gotten a call. The sound of Jim's voice came through to Jeremie's headset.

"Jeremie, what's going on? Did you manage to deactivate the tower? The flood appears to be subsiding."

"Yes, Jim. Aelita just deactivated it about 30 seconds ago. Everyone is safe now."

"You gonna return to the past?"

"Not this time, as it doesn't appear to be necessary. Besides we need to avoid returns to the past at all costs, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, right. See you all in a few. I'll cover for you."

"Thank you, Jim." Jeremie hung up and smiled. After a few keystrokes, all five of the warriors emerged from the scanner room. Odd and Sissi came out first, arm in arm. Yumi came out next, followed by Aelita, with Ulrich bringing up the rear. "Great work, guys," said Jeremie. "Today's mission was a piece of cake. XANA seems to be losing some of his edge." Aelita smiled.

"Maybe you're right, Jeremie. With Sissi on our team, XANA doesn't stand a chance."

Sissi, who had been sitting on the floor fixing her hair, looked up. Everyone was looking at her, smiling. "What?" she said puzzled. Everyone laughed, including Odd.

----

Jim met the kids outside of Kadic. "So, how'd it go, huh? What'd I miss?"

"Oh, nothing much," said Yumi with a smile. She brushed a lock of hair out of her face. "As usual, we kicked XANA's butt."

Jim chuckled. "Ha ha, sounds like fun. Man, I wish I could have come along this time."

"I know, Jim," said Jeremie, "but you were needed at the school. Mr. Delmas would have been suspicious had you not been around."

"I know, I know. It's just been a while since I've been in Lyoko. I'm beginning to miss it. I want to use my cool powers again."

"You'll get your chance again, you'll see." Aelita said, smiling, with a warm look in her eyes.

"I sure hope so."

"Me too," said Ulrich.

"Me three," chimed in Odd.

"Me—" Sissi started to say it, but Jeremie interrupted.

"Okay, you guys. I think we all get the idea. Let's head to class."

"Good idea," said Yumi. I'll see you all later. She headed off in the direction of Mr. Fumet's class. Ulrich watched her as she disappeared around the corner. He was startled by a tap on the shoulder. He turned around to see Odd and Sissi smiling at him.

"Come on, Ulrich; let's see what Mrs. Hertz has in store for us today. The three of them headed off to class, leaving Jim there alone the courtyard. Sissi looked over her shoulder.

"See you later, Jim," she shouted, waving. Jim put up his hand and smiled.

_Gotta love those kids,_ he thought. _Putting their lives on the line to save the world, how about that. _He chuckled, shaking his head. Then he remembered. "Oh, I almost forgot!" Jim turned and jogged towards the running track, as he had a PE class to run. Little did he know that William had been watching and listening to them from across the courtyard. William rubbed his hand against his chin thoughtfully, and then he headed for Mr. Fumet's class.


	2. Sworn to Secrecy

**New and Improved**

**Chapter 2: **Sworn to Secrecy

The day was drawing to a close, and everyone was exhausted. When the six of them met over by the vending machines, they decided not to do anything fun together tonight. They were all just too tired. Yumi said her goodbyes and headed off towards the neighborhood where she and her family live. The rest of them headed back towards the dorm, Odd and Sissi hand in hand. Ulrich plodded along behind Sissi and Odd. He was jealous, but not because of Sissi. He was just wished that he had a girl like Odd does. Ever since William came along, Ulrich's feelings in regards to Yumi had really been challenged, though he never had been able to work up the guts to talk to Yumi about his feelings. He thought she felt the same way for him, but he had his doubts. He continually wondered if Yumi liked William better, so he was afraid that he'd embarrass himself if he confessed himself to Yumi. Ulrich entered the dorm, still running these thoughts through his mind. He was interrupted by the sound of Odd's cheery voice.

"Go on upstairs, Ulrich," said Odd, his eyes bright. "I'll be up in a minute."

"Huh," said Ulrich, a little confused. He didn't catch everything Odd had said.

"Go upstairs," said Sissi, "Odd will up in a moment."

"Oh, ok." Ulrich started to plod his way up the stairs, and Sissi and Odd walked in the direction of her room.

----

Yumi was a little ways from her house when she noticed a figure standing there, leaning against her gate. Yumi squinted, trying to make out who it was. She put her right hand over her eyes, trying hard to see who it was in the dark. The figure stepped into the moonlight and Yumi's eyes widened in surprise. _William? What's he doing there?_ Yumi bit her lip and continued walking towards her house. When William saw her, he stood up straight and turned to fully face her.

"Hiya, Yumi," he said softly.

"William, what a pleasant surprise," said Yumi, although she didn't actually mean it. William eyed her, giving her a look that seemed to say, "Don't-say-that-if-you-don't-really-mean-it." Yumi just ignored that look and smiled, a soft breeze starting to blow her hair a little. There was an awkward moment of silence before William spoke up.

"I saw your friends, Sissi and Jim all talking today in the courtyard." Yumi started to feel a little uneasy, knowing what they had talked about. William went on. "I heard you say something about kicking something named XANA's butt. I also heard Jim say something about wanting to go to something called Lyoko with you. Who or what is XANA and what is Lyoko?"

Yumi hesitated, unsure of what she should do. She smiled innocently and brushed some hair out of her face, though her mind was racing. "Uh … I, uh …" William cocked his head and looked at her sharply. Yumi avoided eye contact, looking around frantically. "Oh it's nothing, nothing at all." William raised an eyebrow. Yumi could tell he wasn't buying it. She chuckled nervously and backed away as William put a hand on the gate, and leaned in close to her face. "Yumi," he said quietly, yet sternly, "is there something you want to tell me?"

----

Odd gave Sissi a goodnight kiss and headed upstairs. Sissi smiled as she watched him go for a moment before closing her door. She slipped out of her clothes and put on her nightgown. She reached under her pillow and pulled out her diary. After settling herself down at her desk, she turned to a blank page. She grabbed a pen and started to write.

_Odd is such a dream. Ever since that fateful day when we_

_discovered we were dating online. My life hasn't been the _

_same. He's got such a taste for the romantic. He's always _

_taking me out somewhere special, and he constantly surprises_

_me with some sort of gift. He never ceases to amaze me. _

_Today he surprised me yet again with Subsonics tickets. We're_

_going to see them when they are here in two weeks. Oh, what_

_will I wear? It's surely got to be something flashy, something_

_that will get me noticed by the band members if they should_

_decide to have a fan on stage. Oh, this is so exciting!_

_Today there was a freak flash flood. It was all XANA's doing._

_No worries though, we were able to deactivate the tower long_

_before any real damage was done. I got to save Odd today_

_from a Krabe. Jim couldn't come though, he was needed at the_

_college. Fighting XANA can be a lot of fun. I'll never forget_

_that day when Jim and I became members of Yumi, Aelita, _

_Jeremie, Ulrich and Odd's group._

Sissi closed her diary and sighed happily. She took her headband out of her hair and stepped out into the hall. She turned and walked in the direction of the girls' showers, preparing to take her nightly shower.

----

Yumi was trying hard not to panic. William had been pressuring her into telling him her and her friends' secret after hearing what he did and every time she tried to brush it off as nothing, he became even more adamant that she tell him. Yumi was backed up against the wall now. "Yumi, I know you and your friends are up to something. Please, just tell me what it is and you can go." William gave her a look that seems somewhat like how a little puppy might look when it wants something. There! She saw an opening and took it. Ducking quickly under William's arm, she caught him off guard, quickly getting behind her family's gate and slamming it shut. "I'm sorry, William," she said sadly. "I've been sworn to secrecy, so I can't." She turned and sprinted for her door. William watched her until she entered her house. Once she was out of sight, he angrily slammed his fist against the gate. He froze, his eyes opening wide in shock. "Ow!" he groaned loudly. He shook his hand, trying to rid it of the pain. Yumi's door opened, and her dad poked his head outside. "Who's there?" When he heard it, William turned and bolted, running off into the darkness.


	3. Yumi's Message

**New and Improved**

**Chapter 3:** Yumi's Message

The next morning, Jeremie woke up to find that the "new voice mail" image was flashing on his cell phone. He rubbed his eyes, yawning, and put on his glasses. He then dialed his mailbox number and put in his PIN. "You have one new message," said the female automated voice. Jeremie pressed a number and the message played back into his ear. It was Yumi, and she sounded very worried.

"Jeremie, I need to speak with you ASAP. It's about William. I think he may know more than he should about our secret. I'll explain the details when I see you. OK, bye." Jeremie saved the message and put the phone down. He glanced over at the clock. _It's 7 AM. I'd better hurry; Yumi will be on campus soon._ Jeremie quickly got dressed and made his way downstairs after collecting his things.

Jeremie reached the vending machines just as Yumi was arriving. He waved to her as she approached, but Yumi only half-heartedly waved back, avoiding eye contact. Something was obviously wrong, Jeremie could tell. "Hi, Yumi," he said once she had reached the machines. "So, what's wrong?"

Yumi sighed, put down her bag, and stared down at the ground. "William confronted me last night outside my house," she said finally. She paused, sighing deeper this time.

"And?" Jeremie asked, trying to lead her on.

Yumi looked up and into Jeremie's eyes. "He said that he heard the seven of us talking yesterday after the flood. He heard me say "XANA" and Jim say "Lyoko." He was pressuring me to tell him what they are. I've never seen him so pushy, so aggressive like that. It frightened me. Fortunately, I was able to get away from him and into my house before I said anything. I think my dad scared him off, but I worry that he is going to continue pestering me about it, until I slip up and tell him something I shouldn't." Yumi put her face in her hands. Jeremie put his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry," he said gently, "I'll see if Jim can handle this. Maybe he can convince William to leave us alone." Yumi looked up, smiling.

"Yeah, you're right. Jim can surely get us out of this one." She picked up her bag. "I've gotta get to class early today, tell the others I said hi. I'll see you at lunch."

"OK, I will. Later, Yumi." Jeremie smiled as she went off to class. He got some hot cocoa out of the coffee machine and leaned against the wall, waiting for the rest of his friends to arrive. Aelita was the first to appear.

"Good morning, Jeremie," she said, her eyes bright. "They had some croissants back in the dorm; I picked one up for you." Aelita put it in his hand, and Jeremie put his other hand on top of hers.

"Why thank you, madam. And might I say, you look absolutely exquisite this morning," he said with a mischievous smile on his face. Aelita felt color rising in her cheeks. Something about Jeremie's "fancy talk," as she called it, made her blush every time. Jeremie had noticed this and made it a habit to greet her in this way every morning. Aelita answered his greeting with a giggle, and Jeremie moved one of his eyebrows up and down in a playful sort of way.

"Oh, Jeremie, stop it," she said laughing. She slapped his hand in mock disgust, causing Jeremie to laugh as well. What a fun relationship they had, the two of them.

Once Sissi, Odd and Ulrich arrived, Jeremie explained what he and Yumi had discussed earlier. They all agreed that they should ask Jim to give William a good talking to. It was also decided that they should all have a look around in Sector 5, as Sissi and Jim hadn't been to that area of Lyoko yet, plus they still needed to find what was needed to complete Aelita's antivirus. Once all matters had been settled, Aelita, Ulrich, Sissi and Odd all headed for class, and Jeremie went off to find Jim. Jeremie found Jim patrolling the grounds. Jeremie explained the situation, and Jim agreed to talk to William.

----

Jim found William in-between classes, sitting on a bench, with an upset look on his face. "Hey, William," said Jim, "why the long face?"

William looked up at Jim. "Oh, hi Jim," he said. "I'm just tired I guess."

"I think we both know that isn't really why you're upset." Jim sat down on the bench, next to William. William scooted over slightly to make room, unfazed by Jim's statement. Jim continued. "I know what happened between you and Yumi last night, and I just wanted to tell you, that you really should mind your own business. I don't care what you heard. If it isn't your business, stay out of it, you hear?" William looked up, a little startled at Jim's words.

"What? How—how did you … how did you find—" William struggled to get the words out, but Jim interrupted.

"It doesn't matter. What _does_ matter is that you frightened poor Yumi out of her wits, all over something you thought you heard us say. We could have been talking about some TV show, or about one of those video games for that matter. My point is, don't stick your nose in someone else's business. It can end up hurting you or others involved. Also, if I find you've followed Yumi home again, you'll have me to deal with. Got that?"

"Yes, sir," said William glumly. Jim smiled and ruffled William's hair.

"Now, you'd better get to class, you don't want to be late again, now do you?" Jim winked, and William walked off towards class. Jim smiled and went back to patrolling the school grounds. William looked over his shoulder at Jim, smirking. _Heh,_ William thought to himself, _like that'll stop me._

----

Meanwhile, Odd had study hall, so he had gone out for a stroll of the grounds with Kiwi. "What a beautiful day, huh, Kiwi?" Kiwi began to bark excitedly. "Whoa, boy, no need to get so excited about it." Kiwi continued to bark, and Odd knelt down and petted him. "Is something the matter, boy?" Odd took a look around, nothing was in sight, and nothing out of the ordinary appeared to be happening. He tried to calm down Kiwi, but it was no use. Odd shook his head. _Dumb dog, somebody is going to hear him!_ Just then, Kiwi ran off, still barking. "KIWI," shouted Odd, "COME BACK!" Odd sighed, then chased after Kiwi, until Kiwi stopped at a large bush over by the fence. Kiwi had also stopped barking. Once Odd had caught up to this crazy animal, he said, panting, "Kiwi, what's gotten in to you? There's no—" Then he saw it. There was a girl hiding inside the bush, trembling in fear. The girl had black hair with a couple of red streaks in it, and her skin was a dark brown in color. She was wearing a gray top cut to expose her navel along with black pants, and she also had a plaid miniskirt over the top of her black pants. She looked up into Odd's eyes and relaxed.

"Oh, Odd," she said, "it's just you. Thank goodness. Now, get this stupid dog out of my way." Odd didn't answer; he just stared at the girl while he picked up Kiwi in order to allow her out. Once she was free of the bush, she smiled at Odd, but it quickly faded. The look on her face turned into a puzzled one when she saw the shocked look on Odd's face. "Odd, aren't you happy to see me?"

"Sa—Sa—Sa," Odd stammered, his eyes wide. He swallowed hard. "Samantha?"


	4. CATFIGHT!

**New and Improved**

**Chapter 4:** CATFIGHT!

"What's the matter with you? Of course it's me," said Samantha.

"I—I'm sorry," said Odd, lowering his eyes. "I'm just so surprised to see you, that's all."

"So, get over it. I'm here okay?"

"Yes, but why?"

"To see you, that's why."

"Samantha, is that really why you're here?"

Samantha opened her mouth to say something, but she closed it before saying anything. The expression on her face turned sad and she looked at the ground. "Odd, it's just—it's just …" she let out a long sigh. "I got in trouble at school and I had nowhere to run. My parents will kill me if they find out." She started to cry. Odd put Kiwi down and Kiwi ran off towards the dorm. Odd put a hand on Samantha's shoulder and tried his best to comfort her.

"Come on, cheer up. It couldn't have been _that_ bad. What happened?"

Samantha looked up. "You don't wanna know."

"Try me."

"No really, you _don't_ wanna know."

"OK, fine then. But why did you come here of all places?"

Samantha smiled. "Because I needed to go someplace where I knew somebody honestly cared about me. You're the only person I can trust. You care about me, don't you?"

Odd bit his lip. Sissi came to mind. "Of course I care about you, it's just—"

"Oh, Odd, I knew I could trust you." Samantha wrapped her arms around Odd's neck and kissed him. Odd opened his eyes wide in surprise, while blushing at the same time. Odd hesitated to push her away, as Samantha was a great kisser, even better than Sissi. Then, the sound of an angry yell echoed across the grounds. Odd knew that yell anywhere. _Oh, crap,_ he thought, _Sissi._ Odd shoved Samantha away and turned very red as Sissi stomped into view. Sissi walked right up to Odd and gave him a good, hard slap across the face. The force of the blow caused Odd to stagger backwards a few steps. He rubbed his cheek, and smiled nervously as Sissi eyed him angrily. "Odd! What is the meaning of this?" yelled Sissi, pointing a scolding finger in Odd's face.

"Sissi, it's not what you think."

"Oh, I think it is. You've got some explaining to do, Odd Della Robbia!" Sissi was mad, very mad. She had used Odd's full name.

"Odd," said Samantha, extremely puzzled, "who is this?"

Odd removed his hand from his cheek. One could almost make out the outline of Sissi's hand in the red mark on his face. "Uh…this is Sissi," Odd paused and took a deep breath. "She's my … _girlfriend_."

"What? I thought _I_ was your girlfriend." Samantha turned her gaze to Sissi. Both girls glared at each other with hatred.

"What are you talking about?" snapped Sissi, "Odd's _MINE!"_ She stepped up and gave Samantha a hard shove. Samantha fell backwards onto her behind.

"Why, you little …" Samantha leapt up and tackled Sissi to the ground. The two of them rolled over each other on the ground, and Odd just stood there, afraid to do something, as they might both turn on him. The two girls continued to roll around, grunting as they continued to punch and slap one another. Samantha managed to gain the upper hand, pinning Sissi on the ground. She put both hands on Sissi's neck, attempting to choke her. This was too much for Odd, though he'd always dreamed of girls fighting over him. "Girls, stop, _PLEASE!"_ Samantha released her grip on Sissi.

"Get off of me!" yelled Sissi, pushing Samantha away. Sissi coughed and the two girls stood to their feet, glaring at Odd. He gulped and continued talking.

"Girls, please. This is stupid. There's no reason to kill each other over me." The two girls looked at each other and smiled. There was something about their smiles that made Odd sweat bullets.

"You're right, Odd," said Samantha. "We shouldn't be killing each other. We should be killing … _you._" Samantha cracked her knuckles and took a couple steps towards Odd. Odd backed away as Sissi followed Samantha's lead. _They've gone crazy! What am I going to do?_ Odd turned and ran in the direction of the classrooms, hoping he'd run into one of the faculty. "HELP! HELP ME!"

----

Meanwhile, Mrs. Hertz's class was just getting started. She called out Odd's name for attendance. When he didn't answer, she looked up. Odd was indeed not in his seat. "Jeremie, Ulrich," she said. "You don't happen to know where Odd is, do you?"

Before Jeremie or Ulrich could answer, the sound of Odd's cries for help came through the open window into the classroom. Everyone turned and looked in that direction. Herve and Nicholas saw him first.

"Look! Odd's being chased by Sissi and some other girl! He looks scared."

"What," asked a surprised Mrs. Hertz. She stepped up to the window. "Oh, my goodness! Jim, where is Jim? JIM!"

Jim just happened to be walking down that hallway when he heard Mrs. Hertz calling for him. He turned around and ran towards her classroom. "What is it?"

"It's Odd," said Aelita worried. "It looks like he's in trouble." Jim looked out the window.

"Omigosh!" he cried. He ran out of the classroom and towards the courtyard.

----

Odd had made a mistake. He'd trapped himself in a corner. As Sissi and Samantha advanced towards him, slid leaned against the wall and slid down into a sitting position on the ground. He was prepared to take the worst.

"Hey, stop!" cried a voice. It was Jim. Odd had never been happier to hear that voice. Samantha and Sissi seemed to snap out of whatever it had been driving them, and Jim stepped between them and Odd. "What's going on here?" Samantha and Sissi both looked down, embarrassed, having realized what had happened. "Well?" Jim eyed the two girls with a displeased eye. Odd spoke up.

"It's my fault, Jim. They're both angry at me."

Jim raised an eyebrow, curious. "Angry with you? About what?"

"If you don't mind, I'd rather keep that between the three of us, Jim." Jim chuckled.

"All right. Whatever it is, I'd advise you to work it out. I don't you all to kill each other." Sissi and Samantha blushed, smiling nervously. Jim laughed and turned around. His eye caught Samantha. "Who are you? I don't recognize you. You a new student here?"

"I—" Samantha started to say something but Sissi interrupted.

"Yes, she's a friend, Jim of mine Jim. Her name's Samantha. She started school yesterday." Samantha gave Sissi a look that seemed to say, "What-are-you-doing?" Sissi smiled slightly, and then looked back at Jim.

Jim raised both his eyebrows and looked over at Odd, who was standing now. "Well, Odd," he said, "you really know how to make a good impression with new students." Jim chuckled, eying Samantha curiously. She looked down, avoiding eye contact. "You three had better get off to class. Run along now." Sissi and Samantha ran off towards Mrs. Hertz's class. "Odd," said Jim, "why aren't you headed to class?"

"I wanted to tell you the truth Jim."

"Oh?"

"She's an old girlfriend of mine from another school. She and Sissi were fighting over me. Then they got mad and came after me"

Jim burst out laughing. "HA HA HA! You don't say?"

"It's true. Samantha got in trouble at her old school. She's scared of her parents, so she came here because she trusts me. Please don't say anything to Mr. Delmas. I'm going to try and convince her to go home myself."

"If you say so. Let me know if you need anything, ok?"

"Thank you, Jim. You're such a good friend." Jim smiled.

"Odd," shouted Sissi from across the way, "come on!" Odd walked of her direction. He looked over his shoulder at Jim. Jim gave him a two-fingered salute. Odd smiled, saluting back. Then he turned and jogged towards Sissi. _Kids these days,_ thought Jim, _I don't think I'll ever fully understand them._ Jim watched the three kids until they entered the classroom. He smiled and walked off towards the garden shed, continuing his rounds of the facility.


	5. Love Conquers All

**New and Improved**

**Chapter 5:** Love Conquers All 

Everyone had a pleasant time in Mrs. Hertz's class, except for Odd. Sissi and Samantha sat together. Samantha had taken Odd's seat, so Odd went and sat with Ulrich and Jeremie, like he used to. He was distracted, and kept looking back and the two of them, but they both refused to look at him. After several attempts, Odd stopped looking back at them, and put his elbows on his desk. He put his face in his hands, resting his chin on his palms.

Herve just stared at Samantha during class. _Wow,_ he thought to himself,_ where did she come from, I wonder? I'm gonna say hi to her after class._ Nicholas noticed that Herve was smiling, which was strange, especially since he was in class. Herve usually kept his mind on the lesson. "Hey, Herve," Nicholas said, tapping Herve on the shoulder, "is everything OK?" Herve snapped out of the little daydream he was in.

"Huh," said Herve, turning to face Nicholas. Then he realized what Nicholas had asked. "Oh, nothing, nothing, I'm fine, nothing's wrong."

"OK, if you say so." Nicholas turned his attention back to the front of the classroom, and Herve went back to gazing upon Samantha.

----

Class ended, and Herve met Samantha outside. "Hi," he said, smiling nervously. He adjusted his glasses, and Samantha looked down at him, a slightly repulsed look on her face. "Hi yourself," she said brusquely. She turned and caught up with Sissi, who had seen Samantha and Herve, and was chuckling, her hand over her mouth. "What's so funny?" snapped Samantha, a stern look on her face. Sissi stopped laughing, and tried to put on a straight face. She couldn't hold it in, as she saw Herve standing across the hall, dejected. A silly smile formed on her face and she started laughing again. "Ugh!" groaned Samantha. She turned and walked off. She noticed Odd watching her, he was leaning against the wall. He looked unhappy.

"Samantha," he said. "Please, I need to talk to you. It's about us."

Samantha stopped. She wanted to stick her nose in the air and walk off, but something kept her from doing so. Odd perked up as she walked towards him. "Well," asked Samantha impatiently.

"Samantha, please don't take this the wrong way. It's just …" Odd paused and sighed. "I've moved on. Sissi is my girlfriend now. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy to see you. It has just been so long since I last saw you and I just couldn't wait any longer. I thought you weren't ever coming back."

"But, can't we just get back together now that I am here, for old time's sake?" Samantha said this without thinking. Odd thought a moment.

"No, I can't just abandon Sissi like that. I'd never hurt her like that. She'd never forgive me. Besides, I believe she may be the girl for me, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I understand. Well, if things don't work out between you two, you'll always have me, right?"

Odd smiled. "Yeah, but don't expect me and Sissi to break up anytime soon, I'm sure she'll forgive me once I explain everything, it's my charm. It never fails."

Samantha smiled. "I guess that's true." She knelt down and kissed Odd on the cheek. Odd blushed, and she walked off. Odd turned around, and Samantha waved to him as she headed outside. Odd walked outside also. He was thinking flower shop. He didn't know that Sissi had been watching him talk to Samantha. She'd also heard every word he'd said. A tear rolled down her cheek, and she turned and walked towards her room.

----

Later, there was a knock at Sissi's door, and Odd's voice came in from outside. "Sissi, you there? It's Odd. Please let me in." Sissi heard a sniffle outside. _He's crying_, _or he has been_ she thought to her herself. She freshened herself up a bit, tears streaming down her face, as she remembered what Odd had said in the hallway earlier. She hadn't stopped thinking about it. She rushed to the door, opened it, and leapt into Odd's arms. Odd hugged her back with one arm, as he had flowers in his other hand. Sissi released her hold on him and stepped back. "Come in," she said quietly, wiping some tears from her eyes. She pointed at the flowers. "For me?" Odd nodded, and handed her the bouquet of pink roses. Sissi held them up to her face, taking in their wonderful smell. "Mmm! Thank you, Odd, they're beautiful." She got a vase from her closet and put the roses inside.

"You're welcome," said Odd quietly. He quickly got to his point. "Sissi, I wanted to tell you that you've got nothing to worry about between Samantha and I. She's an former girlfriend of mine, although she didn't know that earlier when she kissed me." Odd's cheeks turned red a little, as he was remembering the moment. "I just want you to know, that I'd never cheat on you. I'd never do anything of that sort, because I don't want to hurt you in anyway. Besides, you and I, I think we may have a future together, you know?" Odd cracked a smile for a second. A tear rolled down his cheek, and he got down on his knees. Sissi put a hand on her chest, a little surprised. Odd continued. "Please forgive me. I'm so—"

Sissi interrupted, tears in her eyes. "Odd, you shouldn't be the one apologizing. You did nothing wrong." She collected her herself and knelt down on the floor, still facing Odd. "_I'm_ the one who should be apologizing. I acted hastily and out of jealously. I'm so sorry I slapped you like that and acted as though I wanted to kill you. I should have given you time to explain." Her voice started to break. "Odd, please forgive me … I shouldn't have hurt you like that." She started sobbing, putting her head on Odd's shoulder. Odd put gently pushed her away from him and lifted her chin with his hand. They both looked in each other's eyes for a moment. Then Odd broke the silence.

"Yes … yes, I forgive you Sissi, with all of my heart." Odd and Sissi's lips locked in a passionate kiss, and then they hugged the other tightly, tears flowing down both of their faces. Once they had both stopped crying, Odd smiled and said, "Still up for the Subsonics concert?" Sissi smiled.

"Of course, _scrawny_," she said with a wink. Odd beamed, and he offered Sissi his hand. She took it and Odd helped her to her feet as he stood.

"We'd better find Samantha a room, before he go into Sector 5 today," said Odd.

"Yeah, let's go find her. I can't wait to see what Carthage looks like." The two of them walked arm-in-arm outside her room. As they turned into the hall, Sissi had a question for Odd.

"Odd, you know how you said you think he might have a future?"

"Yes," replied Odd, curious.

"You think we might get married and have children someday?" She giggled in delight, as Odd was blushing.

----

They found Samantha outside. She was talking and laughing with William. When she saw Odd and Sissi coming, she said goodbye and made her way towards them. "Come on, Samantha," said Sissi. We'll show you your room."

Sissi had found an empty room earlier. Once they reached it, she opened the door and let Samantha inside. "Here you go," Sissi said.

"Oh, thank you," said Samantha gratefully. She stepped inside. Sissi turned to Odd.

"Go on, I'll catch up," she said. After Odd had left, Samantha asked a question of Sissi.

"Sissi, why did you bail me out earlier?"

Sissi thought a moment. "I don't know, I guess it was because at the time we both had something in common. We were both angry at Odd, so I thought I'd help a sister out."

Samantha smiled. "So … Odd apologized to you?"

"No, actually I apologized to him. I wouldn't let him apologize, it wasn't his fault."

"That's sweet." Samantha smiled and held out her arms, as if she wanted a to give Sissi a hug. "Friends?"

"Friends." Sissi smiled and the two of them hugged. Sissi walked for the door. "I've gotta go. I'll see you later." She waved as she walked out the door. She headed for the factory.


	6. Carthage

**New and Improved**

**Chapter 6:** Carthage 

_I gotta give props to TB3, a member of LF for designing Jim's Lyoko outfit, and to Taelia, also of LF for coming up with the term "Lyokian," which I use in this chapter. And, for all you Star Wars fans out there, be on the lookout for a couple of references to Episode IV. _

_Everyone else must already be at the factory,_ Sissi thought. None of her friends were in sight. She passed a bush as she made her way into the wooded area near the facility. She stopped short and glanced around. She had thought she heard someone nearby. Seeing no one, she thought, _Oh, maybe it was just the breeze. You're just being paranoid, Elizabeth._ Sissi always used her real name when talking or thinking to herself. She didn't know why she did; she just seemed to do it subconsciously, without thinking usually. Ignoring the doubts in her mind, Sissi collected herself and continued into the woods.

Once she was gone, William poked his head out from behind a bush, a little ways from where Sissi had stopped. _This looks promising,_ he thought. She followed Sissi, silently, keeping her just barely in his sights to avoid detection. He jumped behind a tree when Sissi stopped by the sewer lid and took a look around to make sure no one was watching her. Just then, William heard the sound of something growling behind him. Taking his eyes off Sissi, he turned around. There was Kiwi, looking up at William and scratching the ground with his paws. Kiwi continued to growl, a fierce look in his eye. He took a step towards Kiwi, but Kiwi started to yap.

Sissi looked up. "Who's there?" she said timidly. Then she recognized the bark. "Oh, it's just Kiwi." Sissi lifted up the sewer lid and slipped inside and started down the ladder, putting the lid back in its place.

William put up his arms and started to back towards the tree. "Easy, boy, easy." Kiwi started to growl again, and William started to shuffle around the tree, still facing Kiwi. Kiwi didn't move. Once William was around on the other side of the tree, Kiwi had stopped growling. Kiwi walked up to the tree, lifted one of his back legs and urinated on the tree, before walking off. William breathed a sigh of relief and glanced back to where Sissi had been. "Wha? Where'd she go?" He looked around; there was no sign of her. _Darn it! That stupid dog distracted me._ He smelled the urine. "Ugh! Gross!" Holding his nose, William ran back towards the school, forgetting about Sissi.

----

Sissi reached the Factory in due time. Everyone else was already there, including Jim. "Ah, there you are," said Jeremie, smiling. "I was just telling them that I found no activated towers during me pre-trip scan, so this will be purely a research mission.

"Awesome," said Jim. I'll really get some practice using my electrokinesis. Hah!" Jim made a Penchak Silat move, though poorly. Yumi, Sissi and Ulrich chuckled at Jim's ineptness at the martial art. Jim frowned. "What? I'm getting better, aren't I?" Yumi, Sissi and Ulrich all covered their mouths, trying hard to stifle their laughter. Jim had been learning the art from the three of them, mainly Ulrich. He was still a beginner, but he was improving fast.

"All right, guys," said Jeremie. "You all ready?" Everyone nodded.

"I was born ready," said Jim, grinning from ear to ear.

Team Lyoko headed for the scanners. Jim had forgotten how small the scanners looked from the outside. "Uh, Jeremie," said Jim, a little worried. "Are you sure I'll fit in one of those?"

"You did last time, didn't you?" replied Jeremie. "Don't worry; they're a lot bigger than they look."

Sissi and Odd stepped into the two side scanners, leave the center one open for Jim. He hesitated for a moment, then turned side ways and slipped inside. It wasn't as tight a fit as he thought it would be as the scanner was very roomy inside. _I guess they _are_ bigger than they look._ Jim smiled and prepared for the virtualization process. Suddenly he felt like he was in the air, quite a few feet off the ground, with Sissi and Odd on both sides of him. The three of them fell to the ground and landed softly. They were in the forest region. Jim was now wearing a tan shirt with a red collar, and tan pants. He also had on a breastplate-like piece of armor over his shirt. It had some plates that also covered his upper arms and stop black pads that covered his forearms. Black straps held it all together. He also had some black down the front, with a large "Z" on his chest. Jim felt that this stood for "Zeus", who was a god of lightning in ancient Greek mythology. Jim also had some armored plates on his thighs and shins, held there be more black, straps. He also had a black belt and a black, helmet-like piece of armor on his head. It only covered the sides of his face and the back of his head. The top of his head remain uncovered. Finally, similar to Sissi, he had a Bo staff. This staff could conduct electricity, which came from Jim's electrokinesis, making it a very powerful weapon. When the staff was supplied with power, it could shoot electrical blasts long distances, and it could also be used as a short range combat weapon, whether it was full of electricity or not. Jim took a moment to take in the surroundings before Ulrich, Yumi and Aelita joined Jim, Sissi and Odd, completing the team.

"Okay, guys," came Jeremie's voice "Turn due east and follow the path to the edge of the sector. I'll put in the code for the transporter once your there. I'm not picking up any monsters at the moment, so there's no rush. I'm gonna save the computer's resources and not send your vehicles."

"Just what I wanted to hear," said Jim. "Yah!" Jim fired a blast of electricity through his staff to a tree in the distance. The blast was right on target. "Whoa! I forgot how accurate this thing is." Jim spun around, firing several blasts in a half circle opposite the direction the team was headed. Laughing, he created a large ball of electricity and controlled it with his hands before tossing it down towards the digital void.

"All right, Jim, you've had your fun," said Jeremie. "We don't want to attract any attention. You need to save your energy for when we get to Sector 5. We'll surely run into some monsters there." Jim heeded Jeremie's words and caught up with the rest of the team.

Once they reached the edge of the forest, Jeremie entered the code of "Scipio" and the transport appeared. Jim and Sissi looked up in surprise. "What is that?" asked Sissi.

"It's the transport to Sector 5," said Aelita. "Hold still, now." Jim and Sissi gritted their teeth as the sphere swooped down upon them and scooped them up. They felt themselves being lifted off the ground and carried in the opposite direction they had just been walking. Then they felt the transport picking up speed and before he knew it they had landed. Sissi and Jim took a look around; they were in some sort of spinning dome. _So this is Carthage,_ thought Jim to himself.

"Oooh …" groaned Odd, putting a hand on his stomach. Sissi gasped.

"Odd? What's the matter? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I just get a little sick when ever we come here. Don't worry about me, it wears off."

"Okay, guys," said Jeremie. "The door is about to open. Make sure you get to the switch before the time runs out."

"Switch? Time?" Sissi was puzzled.

"Once the door opens," said Yumi, "we've only got a couple of minutes to find the switch that deactivates the main room's ability to change."

"Yumi's right," said Ulrich. "We all need to work together to find it."

"And with your anti-gravity abilities, we should have no trouble at all if the switch his high up on a wall somewhere," Odd smiled as he said this and Sissi nodded.

"Ah, I get it," said Jim. "This I'll be a piece of cake."

"If you say so, Jim," said Odd.

The arena stopped rotating and the hallway opened across the way. The 6 Lyokians ran across and through the hallway as it opened up the way to the core zone. Jeremie explained the core zone a little more for Jim and Sissi's sake. "The core zone is different every time we come here, so we all need to be careful. Plus, there are some powerful monsters that roam this sector as well, so be on your guard."

"Jeremie," said Sissi. "Is Aelita safe from the Scyphozoa here?"

"No, it can appear anywhere, at anytime, so like I said, be on your guard."

The team reached the core zone and scanned the room for the switch. Jeremie found it first. "Guys, it's up near the ceiling in the southeast corner."

"Oh, this'll be easy," said Odd, winking at Sissi.

Ulrich leading the way, they all made their way towards the corner Jeremie had specified. Aelita spotted it first. "There," she exclaimed, pointing upwards.

"Ah!" cried Jim. He'd been hit by a laser." He whirled around and fired several blasts at the monster, destroying it swiftly. _Whoa,_ he thought.

"Jeremie," asked Sissi "what was that … thing?"

Yumi answered for Jeremie. "A Creeper. They are very powerful, so be careful."

Jim scanned the surroundings and blasted a couple more Creepers to oblivion. "Hah! These things are pathetic," he jeered. "They don't stand a chance."

"That's strange, said Jeremie.

"What is it," asked Aelita.

"I thought there would be more monsters around. I'm not picking up any more, save the Mantas outside."

"Mantas," said Jim, "what are those?"

"_Flying_ mantas," said Ulrich. Don't worry about them just yet. They don't come in here."

"Hurry up guys, you've only got a few seconds left," said Jeremie hurriedly."

"All yours, baby," said Odd to Sissi. Sissi smiled and floated up to the ceiling.

"Now what?" she shouted.

"Just push it in," shouted Yumi in reply. "Hurry!"

Sissi pushed in the switch and the countdown stopped. "Great job, team" said Jeremie. "Now let's get outside so Aelita can do some more research."

"This way!" cried Aelita. She motioned for everyone to follow her. When they came to the elevator, they all got on and rode it up to the computer terminal.

"Wow, that was FUN!" said Jim excitedly. "I love Sector 5 already." Jim noticed that everyone else, save for Sissi was looking around as if expecting something. "He walked over to Ulrich and whispered. "Is this where the Mantas come into play?"

"Yes," said Ulrich. "See up there?" Ulrich pointed to where the Manta's were about to hatch. "That's where they come from." Jim mouthed the word "Oh" and watched the Manta nest, charging his staff. Once the first one appeared, he fired a blast at it. It got bigger. Jim fired another, the Manta got even bigger. _Uh oh,_ he thought.

"Jim," said Yumi, "what are you doing?"

"I—I don't know! It just keeps getting bigger when I shoot it," cried Jim.

"Oh, no!" said Jeremie, a panicked tone in his voice. "It seems the Mantas get stronger when exposed to electricity! Jim, whatever you do, don't shoot them."

"Tell me something I don't know," said Jim bluntly.

The Mantas, there were three of them now, followed after the larger one. As they swooped closer to Aelita, Sissi fired several darts from her staff, all of them striking the larger manta on its eye-like symbol. The manta exploded, and the other two Mantas darted off in opposite directions, startled by the explosion.

"Great shot kid! That was one in a million," exclaimed Odd happily.

"Thanks, Odd," said Sissi grinning. She continued to first shots at the Mantas picking both of them off. Her staff, like Jim's is very accurate.

"Wow," said Jeremie. "I didn't realize they were so vulnerable to Sissi's darts. You're all clear, Aelita! Now, let's get this antivirus and go home!"

"I think I've found it," said Aelita. "I'm transmitting it to you now."

"Excellent. This looks very promising." Jeremie's computer began to beep rapidly. "Oh, no this is just what we need."

"Jeremie," said Yumi, "what's the matter?"

"XANA's activated a tower in the Forest region. I'll call up the transporter and drop you guys off—uh oh—guys, I think XANA's materialized a monster. I heard something strange downstairs."

"Jeremie," said Odd. "Bring back Sissi and I, we'll take care of the monsters."

"OK, Odd. I hope you know what you're doing. Yumi, Ulrich, Jim. I'll send you all with Aelita to the forest region to take care of the tower. I'm entering the code now." The transporter came and picked up the 4 members and Sissi and Odd were materialized back into the real world.


	7. The Attack Begins

**New and Improved**

**Chapter 7:** The Attack Begins

Odd exited the scanner first, and he quickly headed over to Sissi's scanner. He offered her his hand. Sissi took it and Odd helped her out of the scanner. They both wheeled around to the sound of a monster. There, a Creeper had just exited the remaining scanner, though it did not destroy it. Odd winked at Sissi and they both lunged at the Creeper, both of them giving it a hard kick to its abdomen. The Creeper groaned and staggered back, before exploding into a puddle of goo. "Ew! Gross," exclaimed Sissi disgustedly.

"I know," said Odd. "You'll get used to it. Let's go." The two of them stepped up to the elevator and Sissi pressed the button to summon it. The doors didn't open, and Sissi mashed the button angrily. "Why isn't this stupid thing working?"

"A monster must have taken it up already. Don't worry; it'll be back down in a minute." Sure enough the doors finally opened and the couple stepped inside. Just then, a tower opened and several Hornets came flying out. Sissi screeched and frantically pressed the button to close the elevator doors as the Hornets flew toward her. Thankfully the door closed just in time and there was the sound of a few thuds against the door, caused by the Hornets ramming into it. _Phew, that was a close one,_ thought Sissi.

The elevator doors opened and Odd and Sissi rushed out into the computer room. Strangely enough, there weren't any monsters in sight. All they found was Jeremie cowering in a far corner of the room. "Jeremie," said Odd with a concerned look on his face, "you OK?"

Jeremie sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine I guess. That was weird though."

"What was weird, Einstein?" asked Sissi. Jeremie hesitated, as it was the first time she'd called him that.

"Well, it seemed as if they didn't even know I was here, or they weren't interested in me."

"That is strange," said Odd.

"Yeah, when I heard the door open, I panicked and ran over here, but none of them came into the room. They just closed the door and continued onward."

"Makes you wonder what XANA's is up to. He always goes for us and the school," said Odd.

"You're right, but we mustn't delay, we've gotta get to the college," said Sissi.

"Sissi's right," said Jeremie. "It isn't safe to be taking the elevator right now. Take the ladder over there, it leads up top."

"Gotcha," said Odd. He grabbed Sissi by the hand and they rushed over to the ladder. Odd let Sissi go first, and they both made their way up and then outside. There were still no monsters around.

----

"Jeremie," called Aelita, "you there? Jeremie! Oh no, the monsters must have gotten to him."

"It's all right, Aelita," came Jeremie's voice. Aelita's emerald eyes flashed in delight.

"Jeremie! I'm so glad you're OK."

"Likewise, Aelita. XANA's up to something strange, none of the monsters came after to me."

"That's weird," said Yumi.

"You said it," said Ulrich.

"Huh?" said Jim, scratching his head.

"I'll explain later, there's no time. Hurry up and get to the tower, it's—" Jeremie stopped and stared at the screen.

"Jeremie?" said Aelita, concerned.

"This can't be right. The scanner program must not be working properly. It shows that the tower is now in the _Mountain_ sector."

"WHAT?" cried the four Lyokians simultaneously.

"I'm running a diagnostic on the scanner program, just sit tight for a moment, and be on the lookout for monsters. I cannot help you with that while I run the program."

"No problem, Jeremie," said Ulrich. "We can handle anything XANA throws our way."

"Yeah," said Yumi, smiling. "XANA's monsters are no match for—AAH!" Ulrich wheeled around, his eyes wide in fear.

"YUMI!"

----

Sissi and Odd made their way through the forest, not running into any monsters along the way. "This is really strange," said Odd, puzzled. "Why aren't they coming after us?

"Beats me, scrawny," said Sissi. Odd smirked.

"Well, frog face, then we'd better find out then, huh?" Sissi giggled.

"Oh, stop it, this is serious."

"Then why did you call me scrawny, huh?"

"Oh, never mind."

The two of them reached the school. Oddly enough it was peaceful; nobody seemed to be worried about anything. Life was going on as normal. _This is just too weird,_ though Odd to himself. Suddenly, there was a bloodcurdling scream in the distance.

"What was that," said Odd.

"That didn't come from the school, that's for sure," said Sissi.

Several yells and screams could be heard off in the distance, and they seemed to be happening more and more often. Sissi noticed her father run out into the courtyard. "Everyone inside," he cried. "Hurry!" Odd noticed that he looked very afraid. All the students hurried into the dorms, wondering what was going on.

Once everyone was inside, Principal Delmas shut the down and locked it. "Now, nobody panic. There are some strange monsters rampaging throughout the city, I just it on TV." Everyone gasped and started whispering. "Everyone, quiet please! There isn't anything to worry about; it seems that they are on the far side of town, wreaking havoc around the Eiffel Tower and other monuments. Please make your way to your rooms. As long as these mechanical creatures continue their current pattern, we should be safe here. Go along now." Odd and Sissi looked at each other, realizing XANA's attack. Sissi hugged odd tightly. "Oh, Odd," she said shakily, "I'm scared."

"Don't worry, Sissi," said Odd warmly, stroking her hair. "I won't let anything harm you." Sissi put her head on Odd's shoulder and they headed towards her room.

----

Meanwhile, in the principal's office, Mr. Delmas and the rest of the faculty had their eyes glued to the television set, watching the as the brave television crew did their best to cover the attack at hand.

"We have no idea, where they creatures came from, and what their purpose is," said the young reporter. "What we do now is that they are extremely dangerous we advise everyone to stay in their homes, away from this madness.

"Bizarre. Just bizarre," said Mrs. Hertz. "Oh! I'd better get back to the science lab! I left out some dangerous chemicals."

"Be careful," said the principal as Mrs. Hertz hurried out of his office. He turned his attention back to the TV set."

"Uh oh," said the reporter. "This isn't good—AAH!" Mr. Delmas and the rest of the teachers grimaced at the picture turned to static.

----

Ulrich ran towards Yumi. She was floating, encased inside a Guardian, though she was still conscious. She pounded on it from the inside, but it was no use. Ulrich could tell she was saying his name, though he could not hear it. He took out his sword and began to slash at the bubble monster, but it was no use. His sword didn't even leave a scratch. He dropped to his knees. "Yumi," he said softly. He turned to Aelita and Jim. "Aelita," said Ulrich, "do you think you could create a false Yumi? It might confuse it like last time."

"Yes," said Aelita, remembering how this had worked last time. She knelt down and sang. Before she could finish, she herself was encased in a Guardian.

"Huh?" said Jim as Ulrich also became trapped inside one. Jim heard the sound of something whooshing towards him from above. He leapt to the left, rolling a few feet. The guardian that was meant for him missed terribly and exploded. Jim gritted his teeth. _I can't let myself get caught. I've gotta find a way to save my friends._ Jim heard another whooshing sound, this time it was coming from behind. Jim wheeled around, charging his staff. He fired at the Guardian, but it split into two. _What!_ Jim ducked, and the two Guardians missed, slamming into a couple of trees and exploding, just like the first one that attacked him. Jeremie came back online.

"OK, guys, I've—huh?"

"Good to have you back, Jeremie," said Jim bluntly.

"What—what happened here?"

"These three orange bubble things have Yumi, Aelita and Ulrich trapped inside and a few have come after me as well." Jim rolled on the ground again, dodging yet another Guardian.

"Guardians?"

"So that's what they're called. Got any idea how I can free our friends?"

"Have you tried using your staff?"

"Yeah, it caused it to split into two." Jim grunted, dodging another Guardian.

"Ouch."

"You're telling me. I have figured out that if they smash into something rather hard, they explode."

"Huh, interesting." Jeremie thought for a moment. "I've got it! Jim, if you can manage to cause them to crash into the ones holding Yumi, Aelita and Ulrich prisoner, it just might free them."

"Good thinking, Jeremie. If I were in the same place as you right now, I'd ruffle your hair."

Jeremie shuddered. _And mess up my hair? I don't think so._ "Sounds great, Jim. Now get to work!"

"Aye, sir!"

----

Sissi heard a loud crash outside. _That sounded close. _Too_ close._ Odd had heard it also, and had bolted for the door. "Odd!" cried Sissi. She ran to the door and looked out into the hall. Odd was nowhere to be seen. _He must have_ _gone outside_, she thought. He cautiously made her way outside.

Odd was outside already. He heard another crash, but this time it was followed by a scream. "That sounded like Mrs. Hertz!" Odd bolted towards the science building. Then he saw it. _A Tarantula?_ "Don't worry, Mrs. Hertz, I'm coming!" He charged towards the monster, and slid underneath it, finding Mrs. Hertz on the other side, cornered inside, along with a second Tarantula. "Odd?" said Mrs. Hertz, startled. Odd winked. _Man, this'll be easy!_ "Stay back, ma'am! I'll handle this." He turned to face the Tarantula that was inside. Waving, he mocked the monster, daring it to fire at him. The Tarantula outside the room, behind Odd, fired first. Odd dodged and ran around the room as the monsters fired upon him, missing every time. Then Odd stopped, in between the two enemies. Smiling, he said, "What are you waiting for? Shoot me, you lame excuses for arachnids!" The two Tarantulas snarled and fired. Smirking, Odd leapt out of the way and Mrs. Hertz laughed as the two monsters destroyed one another.

"Odd, that was amazing!" she said, still laughing. "How can I ever repay you?"

Odd thought for a moment, then it came to him. "Well… you _could_ give me an 'A' in class."

Mrs. Hertz's eyes widened in surprise. "What!"

Odd smiled. "Take it or leave it."

Mrs. Hertz hesitated. _He'll never forgive me if I don't._ She sighed. "Oh, alright." She laughed as Odd danced around happily, yet terribly. "Odd, stop that, or I might reconsider."

----

Jim laughed as he dodged the last attacking Guardian, which smashed into the Guardian holding Aelita, essentially freeing her. "Who would have thought that these guys would be so dumb," said Jim. Everyone laughed.

"OK, guys," interrupted Jeremie. The diagnostic finished, and it found no bugs. I even ran it again just to make sure."

"So that means," said Aelita.

"Yes, the activated tower is indeed now in the Mountain sector.

"Then we'd better get going," said Yumi.

"Right," said Ulrich. "Jeremie, how about some vehicles this time?"

"You got it, Ulrich," said Jeremie. He made a few keystrokes and materialized Ulrich's Overbike, Yumi's Overwing, and Jim's Undertank.

"Wow, is this mine?" asked Jim.

"Yup, it's all yours. I figured you'd like it. Now, the Way Tower is due north. Use that to get to the Mountain sector."

Aelita climbed on to Yumi's vehicle, and the four of them headed off.


	8. The Craftiness of XANA

**New and Improved**

**Chapter 8:** The Craftiness of XANA

Sissi walked outside, the sounds of crashes, explosions and screams could still be heard off in the distance, but nothing was heard that close to the area. She saw Odd and Mrs. Hertz. Mrs. Hertz was helping Odd make his way toward the dorms. "Odd!" Sissi ran towards them. "Odd, are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I'm just a little worn out."

"He saved me from two of those dreadful monsters back there. As a reward, he gets an 'A' in my class!" Mrs. Hertz closed her eyes and smiled. She let go of Odd, and Sissi took hold of him and helped him back to the dorm. Mrs. Hertz smiled and made her way back to the science lab. _Boy, have I got some cleaning up to do!_

By the time Sissi and Odd reached the dorm, Odd was strong enough to walk under his own power. "Thanks, Sissi," he said. "Let's just hope no more come around this place."

"Why don't be just go and fight them?"

"It's too dangerous, plus, I can't count on being as lucky as I just was. We'll just have to hope that our friends deactivate the tower soon."

"I understand." Sissi and Odd reached her room and Odd laid himself down on her bed, still exhausted from the battle with the two Tarantulas. Sissi sat down next do him, stroking his hair. _Oh, I do hope they succeed; it seems that XANA's causing trouble on a much grander scale than usual._

----

Jim was the last to come out of the Way Tower in the mountain region. "Wow, that's was fun! I hope we can do that again sometime. But first, we need to take care of this blasted tower!" Jim rumbled along in his tank, which was surprisingly fast for a vehicle of its size. The tank was red, and it had a small cannon mounted on its front, it's the only vehicle with a weapon on it. Jim could load his staff into the barrel for use as ammo. Jim's vehicle was still the slowest, but it could keep up well enough with the faster Overbike and Overwing.

"OK, guys, the tower appears to have remained stable for the moment. It's on the far side of the sector. I'll be on the lookout for monsters."

"Let's just hope XANA plays it fair this time," said Ulrich. He revved his bike engine as he said this, speeding it up somewhat.

"Hey, Ulrich," said Yumi. "Wait up!" Yumi sped up slightly, trying to keep up, and did Jim, though his vehicle was approaching its max speed. Little did they know that a few Bloks were following watching them as the team made their way towards the tower. The Bloks scurried off, meeting a several more Bloks, along with several Kankrelots. They seemed to communicate somehow, making noises and several motions with their bodies. Then the army of monsters took off, disappearing into the distance.

----

"My, my," said Mr. Delmas, still watching the television set. "This is terrible; so many innocent people have lost their lives as a result of these terrible things. If only there was something we could do.

"I'm sure the authorities will figure out something," said Mr. Fumet. "These things have got to have some sort of weakness. Everything does, right?"

"In theory and in movies and television, perhaps," said the principal, "but this is real, we may not have a way to exploit such a weakness, if these things indeed have one.

"That's true," replied Mr. Fumet. "Still, we can only hope that something can be done to stop all the carnage." He grimaced as he saw a citizen get frozen by a Blok.

"By the way," said Mr. Delmas. "Does anybody know where Jim is? He'd surely be around in a time like this."

"I have no idea," said Mrs. Hertz. She'd just entered the room. "While that is strange, it seems that these things may have a weakness."

"And, what is that, Susanne?" asked Mr. Fumet.

"Well, Odd Della Robbia of all people saved me from two of those things."

"You mean they're here!" exclaimed Mr. Delmas.

"Well, they were, at least for now. Odd managed to trick them into firing upon each other. Perhaps these things aren't as smart as we made them out to be."

"Or maybe it was just luck," said another teacher scowling. "I doubt Della Robbia could have figured out something like that."

"Don't underestimate him," scolded Mrs. Hertz. "He's smarter than you think. He just doesn't seem to know it. If he only applied himself more, he'd get better marks."

"I suppose that's true," said the scowling teacher. Mrs. Hertz smiled, but it quickly faded when she saw what was taking place on the television. "Oh, that's just awful, can't anybody do something?"

----

There was a knock at Sissi's door, and Sissi got up and answered it, leaving Odd resting on her bed. It was Samantha and William. Samantha looked scared, and William had his hand around her shoulder. "Hi," said William after a moment of awkward silence. "It is OK if we stay in here with you guys? Samantha insisted on coming here."

Sissi blinked, a little surprised that Samantha had wanted to come here of all places. "Sure, come on in," she said finally.

"Oh, thank you," said Samantha. "I'm just so scared."

Odd woke up. "Oh, hey, Samantha. You OK?"

"She's fine," said William. "She just got a little spook that's all. She swore she saw a couple of those monsters."

"Well," said Sissi, "there were a couple of them here earlier. Odd managed to take care of them though. Maybe she saw them? What did they look like?"

Samantha described what sounded look the Tarantulas to Odd and Sissi. "Oh, those dumb things?" said Odd, chuckling. I took them out easy; I got them to kill each other. A classic trick, can't believe they fell for it."

"Well," said Samantha timidly, "maybe you can do it again if more come? I don't want to die."

"Ssh," said William, putting a finger on Samantha's lips. "Nobody's going to die." William hugged Samantha tightly. _The two of them must have gotten very close through all this,_ thought Odd to himself, smiling. _Maybe William will leave us alone after all this is over._ Just then, there was a loud thud outside. _Uh oh,_ thought Odd,_ that doesn't sound good._

----

The four Lyokians approached the tower. "There it is," exclaim Aelita, pointing.

"Huh, and no monsters have appeared to stand in our way," said Yumi. "Seems XANA used too much of his resources for the attack on Earth."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that, guys," said Jeremie. "You've got several hornets coming in at point three-five."

"I see them," said Ulrich. He pulled up and turned around racing towards the coming swarm. He leapt off his bike, and stuck down a few of the Hornets and the swarm scattered. "Huh? They don't normally scatter like that. Something's wrong."

"Ulrich," cried Aelita, "behind you!" Ulrich turned around, but it was too late. The Hornets fired several shots, taking out his vehicle and striking the samurai several times. Ulrich fell to the ground, dropping his sword as he was devirtualized.

"Ulrich, no!" cried Yumi. She swung around and charged angrily towards the swarm. She threw one fan, then the other, taking out several more of the enemies. The few that were left scattered again. Yumi gasped and remained alert. _I'm not gonna fall for that like Ulrich did!_ Jim was just reaching the area though he had seen what happened to Ulrich. When he saw the Hornets coming at Yumi and Aelita from below he cried out, "Yumi, look out!" Yumi wasn't about to fall for it, just like she'd promised herself. "Yah!" She threw her fans down at the Hornets, taking out all but two. Jim blasted them out of the air, using the gun on his tank.

"Thanks, Jim," said Yumi, smiling.

"Don't mention it. Now, let's get moving!" The team continued towards the tower, which was about ½ a mile away across a wide plateau surrounded by many tall and wide rocks.

"The coast looks clear guys," said Jeremie. "You can go on ahead now."

They made their way onto the plateau. They weren't far from the tower now, which was glowing red, evidence that it was under XANA's control.

"What a second," said Jeremie. "Something's wrong."

"Yes," said Aelita. "I sense it too. Something's definitely not right."

Then, all of a sudden, Yumi and Jim's vehicles disappeared out from under them, causing the three Lyokians to go tumbling to the ground. The ground shook around them.

"What happened? Our vehicles disappear, and now an earthquake?" said Yumi.

"Jeremie," said Jim, "what's going on?

"I…uh…I'm not sure. Wait a minute … oh no!"

"What is it, Jeremie," asked Aelita.

"The ground, it's crumbling around you! It seems that XANA's trying to cut you off from the tower!"

"Oh," exclaimed Yumi. "That's definitely not good. XANA's a crafty on, that's for sure."

Jeremie put his head in his hands. "It gets worse. I don't know why I didn't detect them before, but there's a multitude of monsters hiding behind those rocks surrounding you. XANA must have gained access to my systems somehow. First there was the tower moving, then the vehicles disappearing, and now this? What am I gonna do now?"

"Cheer up Jeremie," said Jim. "There's nothing the 3 of us can't handle. Just leave it to us."

----

Ulrich woke up in the scanner room. "Wha—what happened?" He stood up and took the elevator upstairs to the computer room.

"Ulrich, there you are," said Jeremie. "Are you strong enough to fight? Odd and Sissi may need you."

Ulrich rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I think so."

"Then hurry up and get back to the school. There's nothing more you can do here."

Ulrich got back in the elevator; he now noticed that it was a little beat up on the inside. _Hmm, the monsters must have used this to get upstairs,_ he thought. Once he got upstairs, he jogged towards the school amongst the terror that was happening in the distance. He grimaced at the sounds of the screaming and yelling as me made his way through the forest.

----

The two couples in Sissi's room huddled together, hoping that the terrible, snarling sounds would go away. William looked at Odd. Odd noticed that William had a fierce look in his eye. He'd had enough of this. William stood up and ran outside towards the sounds of the monsters. "William, what are you doing, where are you going?" cried Odd, Samantha and Sissi together. William didn't answer.

"He's gonna get himself killed out there! I've gotta do something!" exclaimed Odd. "Sissi, you stay here with Samantha, I'm going outside."

"But, Odd," said Sissi, grabbing him by the hand.

"Don't worry about me," said Odd. "I'm sure everything will be fine. Besides, if it two of those Tarantulas again, I'll just trick them like last time!" Sissi smiled when Odd said this.

"Good luck," she said, releasing his hand.

"Tarantulas?" asked Samantha.

"Apparently Odd has given a certain type of the monsters a nickname already." Sissi smiled. "Don't worry; I'm sure he and William will be fine. They're both very brave boys." Samantha nodded, and put her head on Sissi's shoulder. Sissi sighed. _Be safe, Odd,_ she thought to herself.


	9. Return, Interrupted

**New and Improved**

**Chapter 9:** Return, Interrupted

As Ulrich approached the school, he noticed that a Creeper and a Tarantula were on the grounds. He picked up his pace. _Oh man,_ he thought, _I sure hope nobody's been hurt._ As he went by the garden shed, he decided to go inside to look for anything viable for use as a weapon. To his delight, he found a rake with edges sharp enough to be dangerous, some garden shears with long handles, and a pitchfork. Why the school needed a pitchfork, he didn't know; not that he cared about it. He took up the weapons and hurried as fast as he could towards the courtyard. When he got there, he noticed Odd and William coming out of the doors, ready to face the two enemies.

"Odd!" cried Ulrich, waving his hand above his head. Odd turned and waved back.

"Ulrich," he yelled back, "it's great to see ya! Now hurry!" Ulrich hurried over and handed Odd the rake and William the garden shears, keeping the pitchfork for his own use.

"You guys ready?" asked William eagerly.

"Oh, you bet," said Odd. "Charge!" The three warriors ran towards the two monsters. The Tarantula opened fire upon the three boys, forcing them to leap out of the way, hence stalling the charge. The Creeper also opened fire, and the boys rolled in opposite directions to get out of the way. _Oh boy,_ thought Odd,_ this isn't gonna be as easy as I thought._

----

Jim glanced around, as the monsters revealed themselves from behind the rocks. The Kankrelots charged first, coming at the three team members from all sides. Yumi threw both her fans towards the coming onslaught, taking out several enemies, before her fans returned to her. Aelita stayed close to Jim and he created a large ball of electricity and threw it at the Kankrelots coming towards him, essentially destroying most of them. The problem was that the enemies kept replenishing themselves. For each three Kankrelots destroyed, two Bloks appeared in its place, and one Krabe appears for each two Bloks taken out, and there were Tarantulas waiting in the background for the proper moment to strike. The enemies seemed endless, and to make matters worse, they kept getting closer, essentially taking life points away from Jim and Yumi in the process. Aelita also lost a few, having been struck by a stray laser. This made it impossible for her to use her abilities, as she did not have enough life points available to do so.

"Jeremie, we're in trouble," said Jim frantically, "is there anything you can do?"

Jeremie shook his head. "I'm sorry Jim, but there's nothing I can do. It seems XANA's finally won."

"Oh, come on, Jeremie," said Yumi. "It's not over yet, there's gotta be someway out of this."

"I understand that Yumi," said Jeremie glumly, "I just haven't been able to figure it out yet. Just hang in there, OK? I'm doing all I can!" Jeremie typed and typed, trying to do something, but to no avail. Unless his friends managed to miraculously pull something off, they were doomed, as was the rest of the world.

"I've had enough of this!" yelled Jim at the top of his lungs. He roared, creating a colossal ball of electrical energy at his fingertips. "Yaagh!" He thrust the ball of energy into the ground, thus causing a powerful explosion that rocked the entire sector. The force of this explosion destroyed nearly all the enemies. Panting, Jim dropped on one knee, then collapsed to the ground and was devirtualized, having exhausted his remaining life points.

"Oh no, Jim!" cried Aelita. She put a hand over her mouth in shock.

"Get behind me, Aelita," said Yumi quickly. "Thanks to Jim we can beat these things, so stay close." Aelita nodded and crouched behind, peeking out from behind Yumi's kimono. Yumi brought her fans in front of her face, preparing for battle.

----

Jim stepped out of the scanner and made his way to the computer room. Jeremie turned his head. "Jim," he said. "That was a brave thing you did back there."

Jim put his hand on the back of his neck. "Ah, it was nothing," he said.

"Don't be so modest. You may have saved us from defeat."

Jim smiled. "Ah well, anyway, what should I do now?"

"Well," said Jeremie thoughtfully, "I send Ulrich back to the college; you should probably be heading that way also."

"All right then, I'd better get going. Tell Yumi and Aelita that I'm OK."

Jeremie gave Jim a thumbs-up. "Sure will Jim, now get going."

Jim gave Jeremie a two-fingered salute and rushed back into the scanner, making his way out into the forest. Jim heard the sounds of the carnage that was taking place. He didn't know this, but the sounds were closer than they had been a little while back. The monsters were making their way back to this part of town. Jim stopped by the garden shed. He noticed a couple of javelins were in there. _Huh,_ he thought, _I thought I put these back with the rest of the track and field supplies. No matter, these will make do as weapons just fine._ Jim took them both and jogged towards the school.

----

Yumi struggled against the monsters that approached. She threw her fans, taking the Krabe that remained. Now only a few Tarantulas continued to fire upon her. She flipped and twisted, avoiding as many of the laser as she could, blocking the rest with her fans, all while protecting Aelita. Aelita watched in awe as Yumi fought bravely against her foes. It was as if nothing could touch her. Aelita had seen Yumi fight well, but nothing like this. Like a blur of black and red, Yumi raced around, taking down enemies while avoiding their attacks at all costs. Once it seemed that Yumi had the attention of all the monsters, she cried, "Aelita, go, _now_!" Aelita sprinted towards the tower.

"Jeremie," she whispered, "do you think you could materialize me an Overboard? I don't think I can jump the whole way, and I don't have enough life points to change the terrain."

Jeremie gulped. "I'll do my best Aelita. I don't know if I'll be able to, since XANA managed to dematerialize them before."

"I have faith in you," said Aelita softly. When Aelita said this, Jeremie felt a surge of confidence come over him. _I can't let her down, I _won't Jeremie began to make several keystrokes as Aelita ran towards the edge of the plateau.

"Jeremie," said Aelita, "now!" Aelita leapt up into the air, stretching towards the edge of the terrain where the tower was located. Jeremie gritted his teeth. Sweating, he pressed the Enter key.

"Jeremieeeee!" cried Aelita as she soared through the air. She wasn't going to make it. "Whooooooaaaaaaa!" To her and Jeremie's relief, Odd's overboard appeared beneath her. Aelita landed on it and held on for dear life as she flew towards the tower. The single remaining Tarantula snarled and turned in Aelita's direction and prepared to fire.

_Finally,_ thought Yumi. She heaved her fans towards the monsters, striking it in precisely the right spot, causing it to explode. Yumi caught her fans and sighed, relieved. There were no monsters in sight now. "Aelita," Yumi shouted, "hurry and deactivate the tower!"

----

Jim reached the school and heaved his javelins and the monsters. "Take that, you foul things," he shouted. A mistake, as the Tarantula whirled around and shot the javelins out of the air. _Uh oh,_ thought Jim. The Tarantula charged its guns and prepared to fire.

----

Aelita had just reached the upper platform of the activated tower. She walked toward the center and placed her hand on the screen. "AELITA" was spelled across the screen, then the word "CODE" appeared, with a flashing cursor beneath it. She typed the word "LYOKO."

----

Jim covered his face, anticipating where to jump when the monster fired. It hesitated and Jim wondered why. Suddenly it and the Creeper slumped to the ground and exploded, splattering icky goo all over the place. Jim smiled. _They did it, they deactivated the tower!_ Jim began to laugh, it was finally over.

----

"Tower deactivated," said Aelita. Jeremie leaned back in his chair and breathed a sigh of relief. It was over. Yumi's voice came through to his headset.

"Jeremie, you gonna return to the past?"

Jeremie thought a moment. He made a few keystrokes. "Return to the past—huh?" The computer started beeping and Jeremie stared at the red exclamation point that was flashing on the screen.

"What's wrong, Jeremie?" asked Aelita as she stepped out of the tower.

Jeremie put his face in his hands. "This is bad, very bad. I can't return to the past!"

"WHAT!" exclaimed Yumi and Aelita.


End file.
